This application is related to and claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. Hei. 11-373491 filed on Dec. 28, 1999, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an accelerator in which a pedal arm is attached to a resinous acceleration rotor supported rotatably in a support member.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional accelerator, an acceleration rotor is mechanically connected to a throttle device by a wire and the like, so that the degree of throttle opening is controlled by stepping on an acceleration pedal attached to a pedal arm of the accelerator. On the other hand, in an accelerator described in JP-A-10-287147, an acceleration opening sensor is provided, and the degree of throttle opening is electrically controlled based on detection signals from the acceleration opening sensor. In such accelerator, the acceleration rotor can be made of resin to reduce its weight. However, in this case, it is necessary to have an attachment structure for accurately attaching the pedal arm to the acceleration rotor.
In view of the foregoing problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide an accelerator which can be readily manufactured while having a reduced weight.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an accelerator in which a pedal arm can be readily accurately attached to a resinous acceleration rotor.
It is a further another object of the present invention to provide an accelerator which prevents a resinous acceleration rotor from being damaged.
According to the present invention, in an accelerator, an acceleration rotor made of resin has plural attachment portions separated from each other in a rotation direction of the acceleration rotor. An acceleration pedal for performing an acceleration operation is attached to one end portion of the pedal arm, and the other end portion of the pedal arm is attached to the plural attachment portions of the acceleration rotor. The other end portion of the pedal arm is bent to be attached to the plural attachment portions in such a manner that a virtual line connecting both approximate centers of any two attachment portions crosses with the pedal arm at least at one of any two attachment portions. Accordingly, even when a force is applied to the pedal arm in a direction for rotating the pedal arm around a rotation axis different from a rotation shaft of the acceleration rotor due to stepping on the acceleration pedal, the pedal arm does not rotate. Thus, acceleration operation of the accelerator can be accurately performed. Further, because the pedal arm is attached to plural attachment portions of the acceleration rotor separated from each other in the rotation direction, additional force applied from the pedal arm to the acceleration rotor can be dispersed. Therefore, it can prevent the resinous acceleration rotor from being damaged due to stepping on the acceleration pedal. In addition, because the acceleration rotor is made of resin, the acceleration rotor can be readily formed into various shapes, and the weight of the acceleration rotor can be reduced.
Preferably, the plural attachment portions of the acceleration rotor at least have a first attachment part to which a top end part of the other end portion of the pedal arm is attached, and a second attachment part different from the first attachment part. Because the top end part of the other end portion of the pedal arm is press-fitted into the first attachment part, the pedal arm can be readily attached to the acceleration rotor.
More preferably, the other end portion of the pedal arm has an insertion part at a position different from the top end part, and the insertion part of the other end portion of the pedal arm is inserted into the second attachment part of the acceleration rotor. Therefore, the pedal arm can be readily accurately attached to the acceleration rotor without using a fastening member.